Platform Planter (update)

BY SKEETER

April 30, 2012

 Today, I will update you on the Planter outside of the Crawlspace  door to our house. I call this area the Platform Planter. Click HERE to see how this planter came to be being filled with Sagina Moss.

With this planter being on the West side of the house, I knew chances would be slim as to the Moss surviving. Click HERE to see the demise of the Moss.

April 3, 2013
I took advice from commenters on that last posting about this planter, and added Creeping Thyme to the planter.

April 21, 2013

 I had high hopes for the Thyme and within 18 days of planting it, I was seeing great results! 

April 21, 2013

Even a nice bloom or two of the scented plant.

June 4, 2013

 By June and the heat of summer, I could see this was indeed a great choice for this planter. I had Black elephant ears and Cleome jumping the boarders so those had to be removed.

Imagine my mood when I turned the side of the house to find every bit of the Thyme was dead! I also found dead and spotted elephant ears along the entire West side of the house. Hum, Darn you SAINT! Seems the Saint had been cleaning the mildew off the siding to the upstairs of the house using "Wet and Forget" He sprayed it on and walked away forgetting about the plants below. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper... I failed to snap a photo of the dead and spotted plants as I wanted to Forget about it!

April 29, 2014

 We now jump to the present time where I have tended to this planter once again. I have filled it with Pink Chintz Thyme and have made the Saint promise to stay clear of my PLATFORM PLANTER, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Sagina Platform

BY SKEETER 

Here is a project I started Saturday morning stopping once the sun moved into the area. I finished up yesterday just in time as the sun had moved in on me. The heat is getting to me and the calendar says it is Spring. I dread Summer in my Georgia Gardens with this heat!  

I am getting bad about not snapping "before" pictures these days. I am usually good at that but for some reason, lately I have been forgetting. Saturday, I was able to get all the sod removed and dug a layer of clay out as well. I placed some bricks for a border and laid a pattern in the middle. I was not too happy with the pattern but was only trying to use all of the large bricks I had on hand. I did use two smaller bricks in this pattern. These bricks were a freebie that I posted about last July. I am just now getting around to finding a use for some of the bricks. Click Here to read about my free bricks.  I hope this linking works as it is my first go at it with the new Blogger Format...

Refreshed and ready for day 2 of the Crawlspace platform. I leveled the area, scattered sand and put the brick border into place. Then the middle pattern started to come to mind. It just seem to flow out of my head like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

Next, I filled in the cracks with sand mixed dirt. The fun part was filling the large holes with Sagina! I have had this Irish Moss for about a month or so. I found 6-packs on sale at half price in the Wal-Mart Garden Center. I picked up 4 of them and had no idea what to do with them until now. I did a bit of research on this moss and found conflicting reviews of sun/shade and water habits. I decided to give it a try in this spot even though it will get the afternoon sun. The AC unit is nearby and the running system will keep this area moist.

To the Left of this new platform is a new planter of Elephant Ears and Blue-eyed Grass. I transplanted the ears from the Semi-Formal Garden as they were staying too dry with our drought conditions plus, they were not getting enough sun due to the ever growing dogwoods shading them. The rocks were freebies I have collected.

To the right of the platform, I have another new planter made this spring of Black Elephant ears and a little Fern tucked into the back right corner. The Ears were planted in this spot last summer and thrived in the AC unit water! I was not sure if this plant would return or not as their was no tag on this bargain purchase. I dug out a small shoot of it just in case and over wintered it inside. As you can see, it is hardy and has returned. The Fern was in a small pot on the front porch all winter long. I picked up a replacement fern this spring and as I was taking out the old dead plant, I noticed a small green sprig in the center of the plant. I went ahead and took out the old and potted the new and decided to stick this little fern into this corner and just look how happy that thing is in this spot! Kind of shaded by the AC Unit but come Summer, it may not be so happy. I will keep my eye on it and see if the growth of the Elephant Ears will keep it shaded enough to remain in this spot or I will move it.

The Saint and I do not like for bushes or trees to be planted beside the house. We do not like the idea of raccoons, squirrels or anything else possibly getting onto our roof from having plants nearby. As things fill in, I hope this will be a nice view to the eyes rather then just a soggy grassy, mossy, weedy area. On the other side of this AC/Heat Unit is the Beach Planter.

I had never heard of Sagina or Blue-eyed Grass before finding these while strolling the Garden Center. Since my purchase, I have seen both on other blogs! I still have to add some dirt to the platform area as it settled a bit after I watered it in. I would also like to come back and add a nicer looking stone to the planters. But that will cost money and for now I am happy with my SAGINA PLATFORM, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden